Saint Me and You

One of our favorite excuses for bad behavior is, "I'm no saint!"  And, judging by our behavior that precipitated that disclaimer, who could argue the point?  Ummm, actually God could. 

You see, if you are a Christian, you actually are a saint. Surprising, but true: "...you were sanctified [made holy or saintly]...in the name of The Lord Jesus Christ,,," (1 Cor 6:11).  Now, if you are not a Christian, your argument is valid, unfortunately.

But, for those of us who are "washed" (baptized) into the name of Jesus, we are in fact, saints. And with that status, we are given the power to live saintly lives - we may not exercise that power but we have it: "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life..." (2 Pet 1:3).

This truth is a game changer. Instead of "I'm no saint," I simply choose not to act in a godly or saintly manner. That uncontrollable anger is is unleashed by choice. Your wandering eye is on a mission from your lustful heart.  Those foul words don't slip out, you open your mouth and release them. 

You do have the power to control your actions, you simply choose not to plug into it. The divine power of the Spirit of Christ within never has an outage, their is never a short in it's stream, we simply choose not to plug into it at times. 

I'm not saying we will act morally upright all the time or that we even can be perfect in a moral sense as our weak flesh will sometimes choose not to access the power of God. I am saying that it is always there and we have constant access to it. 

So, rather than excuse bad behavior, own up to your choice, your responsibility and your ability to do better by His power at work within you (see also Eph 3:20).  Don't excuse or settle. Jus' Sayn.